Editorial note: this is a general guide to how Book of Dead works. Slot rules, feature availability and RTP can vary between operators and game versions, so always check the in-game information panel before you spin. Slots are games of chance — nothing here is a prediction of results, and no strategy changes the odds.
Book of Dead slot review
Book of Dead is Play’n GO’s 2016 Egyptian adventure and the defining example of the “book” slot format. Explorer Rich Wilde fronts a five-reel, three-row, ten-payline game in which a single golden book acts as both wild and scatter, and the free-spins round — with its randomly chosen expanding symbol — is where almost all of the game’s famous wins are made.
How Book of Dead plays
The base game is deliberately simple. Card royals fill the low end of the paytable, with Anubis, the pharaoh and Rich Wilde himself paying the most: five Rich Wilde symbols on a line are worth 5,000 coins. The Book of Dead symbol substitutes for everything as a wild and also counts as the scatter, paying in any position. Stakes start small, and an optional gamble lets you risk a win on a card colour or suit.
Free spins and the expanding symbol
Landing three or more books anywhere awards ten free spins. Before they start, one regular symbol is chosen at random as the special expanding symbol. Whenever it appears often enough during the round, it stretches to cover its reels and pays as a scatter across all ten lines — a full screen of a premium expanding symbol is the dream outcome. Three more books inside the round retrigger another ten spins.
RTP, volatility and max win
The commonly published RTP is around 96.21%, but Play’n GO supplies lower-RTP versions too, so always confirm the figure in the game’s information panel. Volatility is high: long quiet spells are normal, and the value is concentrated in the bonus. The advertised maximum win is 5,000 times your stake.
Frequently asked questions
How do you trigger free spins in Book of Dead?
Land three, four or five Book of Dead symbols anywhere on the reels. You receive ten free spins, and the round can be retriggered once more books land during it.
What is the expanding symbol?
At the start of the free spins, one ordinary symbol is randomly selected. During the round it can expand to cover whole reels and pays like a scatter, which is how the game’s biggest payouts happen.
What is the RTP of Book of Dead?
Around 96.21% in the standard version, with lower-RTP variants in circulation. Check the in-game information panel for the version you are playing.
What is the maximum win?
The advertised cap is 5,000 times your total stake, most realistically reached with a top-paying expanding symbol filling the screen.
Related guides
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